Richard Dawkins appears to have linked a grisly video of a Islamic State child soldier beheading a man and the case of ‘clock boy’, Ahmed Mohamed.
Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian

Richard Dawkins has sparked a wave of criticism after appearing to draw a tenuous link between Ahmed Mohamed, the Texas Muslim teenager whose homemade clock was mistaken for a bomb, and a child forced by Islamic State militants to behead his victim.

The criticism came after the leading scientist reacted to news that Mohamed’s family’s was demanding $15m in damages and an apology after the 14-year-old was arrested in September, when his homemade clock was taken for a bomb.

‘“But he’s only a kid.’ Yes, a ‘kid’ old enough to sue for $15m those whom he hoaxed,” tweeted Dawkins.

In the tweet he linked to an International Business Times report on a video posted to YouTube that appears to show a child of about 10 being forced by Isis fighters to decapitate a Syrian regime army officer.

Referring to the video he asked: “And how old is this ‘kid’?”

Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins)

"But he's only a kid." Yes, a "kid" old enough to sue for $15M those whom he hoaxed. And how old is this "kid"? https://t.co/kjzxGDs5Az